Kingdom of Great Britain (1707-1800)

Following the union of England and Scotland in 1707, Britain underwent notable transformations, carving a unique niche in European and world culture. The population grew steeply, particularly from the mid-century on. London developed into the world’s leading economic powerhouse. Commercial and colonial expansion secured prosperity for an emerging middle class at home, while consolidating the authority of the Royal Navy overseas. A secure manufacturing basis laid the foundation for the Industrial Revolution. Progress in science and industry was countered by artists and authors who depicted the poverty, disease, and crime that co-existed with these achievements. Although in many ways Britain was a comparatively progressive nation, satirists and critics drew the attention of an increasingly literate public to the urgency of reform, while overall national pride and confidence grew. Britain’s rise as a dominant power during this era is a landmark in the formation of the modern western world.

Brief history

In 1707 the Acts of Union joined the kingdoms of England and Scotland in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, encompassing the whole island of Britain, but not including Ireland. From that moment forward, Britain was designated the Kingdom of Great Britain. The following 100 years can be characterized as an era of strife abroad, and relative peace and prosperity at home. Successive administrations, governed variously by the Whig and Tory parties, presided over a nation whose economic growth, with the expanding City of London at its heart, rose decade after decade. Under the Whig politician Robert Walpole (1676–1745), effectively the first prime minister of Great Britain, prosperity began to extend more broadly across the social classes, anticipating the later Industrial Revolution.

At the same time, Britain witnessed a rise in popular literature and art forms designed to appeal to mass audiences. There was a growth in literacy, particularly among women. The evolution of the novel as an innovative art form can be dated to this period, with writers such as Daniel Defoe (1660–1731) and Samuel Richardson (1689–1761) narrating the lives of those previously excluded from attention. Satirists such as the poet Alexander Pope (1688–1744) and the novelists Henry Fielding (1707–1754) and Jonathan Swift (1667–1745), and the artist William Hogarth (1697–1764) depicted the uncompromising realities of life as it was actually lived.

Subsequent prime ministers were less successful than Walpole at bargaining for peace. From the 1740s on Britain was engaged in almost continuous warfare, typically allied with colonial interests, in Europe, North America, Africa, and Asia. The French Revolution, and the execution of King Louis XVI in 1793, followed by the challenge of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, alarmed the British government, and the century closed with a blockade of French ports by the Royal Navy. Finally, on January 1, 1801, Great Britain merged with the kingdom of Ireland to become the Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. This decision was taken because British–Irish tensions had escalated, culminating in the Irish Rebellion of 1798, and Prime Minister William Pitt saw union with Ireland as the only way to secure peace.

Overview

International conflict shaped much of Britain’s history during the eighth century. In 1707 the nation was embroiled in the War of the Spanish Succession. In the Grand Alliance with the Netherlands and Austria, Britain strove to keep the Spanish Empire from its claimant, the grandson of the French king. Peace treaties—including the definitive Treaty of Utrecht (1713)—terminated the war, recognizing the claimant as the king of Spain, but ceding property and possessions to Britain. A perceived violation of these rights in 1739 led to another war with Spain that lasted until 1748.

A key dispute at home also concerned royal succession. The legitimacy of the British monarchy (the House of Hanover) was challenged by Jacobites, who were committed to returning the exiled House of Stuart to the throne. Insurrections grew into a final Jacobite Rising in 1745, led by Charles Edward Stuart, whose troops were vanquished by the Duke of Cumberland at the bloody Battle of Culloden in 1746.

Britain’s military campaigns were not confined to Europe. The century saw numerous skirmishes with the French over territorial rights, and in 1756 the Seven Years’ War erupted. A conflict fought in Europe, India, Africa, and the Philippines, as well as North America (there it was called the French and Indian War), it concluded with British supremacy over France, recognized by the Treaty of Paris in 1763. The Royal Navy was now a global force, and Great Britain was acknowledged to be the world’s dominant colonial power, holding vast territorial possessions collectively known as the British Empire. Of these, the thirteen American colonies were highly valued, although a series of increases in taxes (such as the Stamp Act of 1765), along with a mounting desire for self-government, fuelled a campaign for independence from Britain. King George III, and Prime Minister Lord North gradually lost parliamentary support for the American conflict, and the colonies achieved independence in 1776, and ultimate victory in the Revolutionary War in 1783. Non-military colonial expansion was equally high on the agenda. James Cook was the first recorded European to reach Australia, in 1770. Although not judged viable as a source of revenue, a penal settlement was established there in 1787.

These exploits were generally well financed. Prosperity at home grew, and London became established as the world’s premier financial hub. There, and across the nation, an expanding middle class of shopkeepers, merchants, and traders contributed to social stability. Entrepreneurship was encouraged, despite catastrophic setbacks such as the stock market crash of 1720. Economic security enabled a renaissance in art and literature, catering to a broadening market of readers. This enhanced sense of national consciousness was also reflected in reforms of social institutions such as hospitals and schools. The influence of the European Enlightenment was felt in philosophical circles, in particular among Scottish thinkers. Trading companies, principally the British East India Company, flourished, and a solid manufacturing base supported an array of scientific and industrial advances. The conditions were set for the Industrial Revolution (starting in the 1770s) that mechanized and streamlined manufacturing, fixing templates of productivity at the core of the western model of economic growth.

Bibliography

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